So I’ve Been Talking With @seventfics About Silver Fox Jaskier And I Remembered This Gif From Indiana

@zutaraweek

Zutara Week 2020 Day 3: Fuse

(Part 2/?)

Zuko had never been known for his calm and even temper. Even before his exile it wasn’t uncommon for him to blow up at someone when provoked. That it was a trait shared by most of his immediate family didn’t help him feel any better about it, especially when he knew half the palace staff was scared to even pass him in the halls when word got out he was angry. It was something he was working on and he usually accepted it as a process that took time.

Katara was not known for her temper. The other diplomats knew her as someone who was fiercely just, bold, confident, and passionate about her job. The palace staff treated her with proper respect while somehow still talking to her like she was one of their own. All smiles and gossip.

Obviously none of them had ever been on the receiving end of Katara’s fury when she was angry, but Zuko experienced enough to understand what she was really like.

The first time they had fought after they started dating he’d been scared he had ruined everything. That two people with short fuses could never make a happy relationship together and it was his fault for not having better control. The fight had been about something small and stupid, something that he would have tried to ignore but would definitely still eat away at him the longer it went not talked about. She had been the one to bring it up. The arguing started and then the yelling and then— to his amazement— the talking, a compromise and then before he knew it, laughing. The day had continued normally, only without the festering thing in the back of his mind from before, which had been replaced with another layer of appreciation for Katara.

They’d had a few small arguments since then, but they were easily worked through since their basic understanding was that they both really liked each other and wanted to stay together. Knowing that usually helped them not jump to any harsh conclusions.

But all this is to say that Zuko learned exactly what Katara was like when she was upset. Which was why, when she stormed into his office that morning all red faced glares and stomping feet (which probably would have looked adorable any other time), his first instinct was to rack his mind for anything he could have done to piss her off. His second instinct was to take stock of any liquids he had nearby as she had a tendency to waterbend without really thinking when her emotions got the better of her.

He couldn’t think of anything he did to get this reaction, so opted to stay quiet as he eyed her, slowly pushing his tea tray farther away from the papers on his desk.

She caught the action and stopped her pacing long enough to raise an eyebrow at him. He shrugged. She rolled her eyes and resumed pacing. Feeling like that was enough to confirm her ire wasn’t directed at him, he ventured to ask, “Katara. What’s wrong?”

“Aang. Aang is what’s wrong!” Oh. It had been three days since the Avatar and the others had arrived. Three days since Zuko and Katara told them how they were dating. And three days of Aang keeping his distance from them both. To be fair, he was still doing his part as Avatar and helping to moderate some important discussions about reparations with the Earth Kingdom, which was the original excuse for his visit. Aside from a few cool looks directed Zuko’s way, he was able to remain surprisingly professional and fair.

Though to be honest, Zuko had been less worried about Aang than he had been about Sokka. Aang may be the Avatar and Katara’s closest friend, but Sokka was still her brother and Zuko knew he still looked out for his little sister. It turned out there was no need to worry, though. When Zuko had approached him about it in private Sokka simply shrugged and said matter of factly, “I’m gonna be honest with ya, buddy. After the year and a half I just had, my little sister dating the new ruler of the Fire Nation is not the strangest thing to happen.”

So there was that.

“Didn’t he agree to practice waterbending or something this afternoon?” Zuko asked now. Katara stopped pacing again and the look in her eyes could freeze steam, no waterbending required.

“He cancelled. Said he had “important Avatar business” to do. As if I wouldn’t know anything about Avatar business!” She threw up her arms in frustration and Zuko’s tea pot rattled ominously. He casually shuffled some documents to the other side of his cluttered desk before standing and walking to her.

“I thought we were going to give him space to work through… things.”

She sighed and walked away to his open balcony. “It’s been days! And I’m no good at giving space. I just want us to be able to talk through it. We should be able to do that. We’re still best friends.” She hesitated. Hugged herself and sort of shrunk inward. Zuko was there, wrapping his arms around her before he even realized he stepped outside. “At least I still consider him my best friend. Zuko, what if he never forgives me?” She whispered.

He hugged her tighter and felt her lean into him. “We’re talking about the same kid who lectured us both on the saving power of forgiveness during a hundred-year war. I think you might be overthinking this, just a bit.”

She huffed out a laugh and actually smiled up at him, though ruefully. And he took a moment to feel the thrill of knowing he could make her smile, help her relax the tension building in her shoulders and brow. Especially now, when she was so upset and needed cheering. All he’d known for so long had been anger, so he never used to think he could do cheering. But for her he wants to become an expert.

“Fine, maybe you’re right,” she said reluctantly. “But if he doesn’t talk to me soon I’m going to sick Toph on him. And we all know how scary she can get.”

——

The length of this one kinda got away from me, sorry! My goal is to keep the ficlets somewhat short, but I kinda build the story up in my head while drawing and it sometimes becomes more than I originally intended. I tried to hide the text under a cut, but I only have my ipad and I can’t find the option to do that with the app. :/

Anyway, I’m loving all the beautiful works people have been posting! I love this fandom!

enough is enough, he’s a long way from home.

Мои глаза

Ночная рубрика экспериментов. Впервые взялась за масляную пастель и впервые попыталась нарисовать что-то акварелью. (Что-то, что больше пальца, помню как я сходила с ума, пытаясь нарисовать того Мэтью Мёрдока) К сожалению, я поздно поняла, что именно надо было делать и как рисовать, но, как говорится, первый блин комом. Сначала была пастель, поэтому акварельный рисунок выглядит более продуманным. Плюс, скан пастели намного светлее, чем в реальности. Теперь надо нарисовать тоже самое ручкой и карандашами. Посмотреть на одно и то же изображение, нарисованное разными материалами всегда интересно. #Нэсси #пастель #акварель #морскойдракон #перваяпроба #лохнесскоечудовище #маслянаяпастель

Witchers can be such jerks some times.

I prefer to use Redgrave as their surname, because their hometown is Redgrave City and Dante used “Tony Redgrave” nickname, so it’s kinda similar to your idea (I like it, btw). Also in Russia we call them “Spardovich” sometimes. It’s a patronymic, but still could be used like a surname.

Unpopular opinion: I’ve never liked saying that the twins’ surname is Sparda. I understand where that comes from, but I’ve never been able to get behind the usage of their father’s name as a surname just like that.

But hear me out.

In Spanish, we have a couple of ‘fun’ usages of the prepositional particle de (of) when it comes to surnames (I am aware that a bunch of other languages also use this or something similar, but I’ll stick with what I know best for the sake of it).  

So, for example, if a woman wants to stress her relationship with her husband, she can say she’s [Name] [Surname] de [Husband’s Surname]. In some cases, de was also used as a nobiliary particle.

Let’s say that the twins want to stress the fact that they are, well, the Sons of Sparda. So, they could, technically, say their names are Dante of Sparda and Vergil of Sparda. 

And, if we have fun with it, we can kinda treat that ‘of’ as a nobiliary particle due to the weight that Sparda’s name holds in the underworld. He wasn’t a ruler there, but everyone knows who he was so 🤷

Also, he was Fortuna’s feudal lord for a while, so I guess we could say he was Sparda da Fortuna if we follow the Italian conventions? But let’s not go there. That’s not important right now, lol.

Yes, I’m reaching. A lot. And also ignoring a bunch of conventions. But I kinda like how it sounds? 

Good Night.

Famous vehicle posters by Nicolas Bannister

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told - The story of a man afraid of flying, and an angel afraid of falling, who somehow met in the middle. The man who denied the existence of angels came to love one. The angel who never felt began to feel. The man who was saved from an eternity in Hell by an angel. The angel who fell in every way imaginable for a man. The man, with a clear path to escape, decided instead to stay in Purgatory for a year, searching for his angel, praying to him every night. Begging. When he found him, he held him; he told him that he needed him, that he’d get him out, even if it killed them both. The angel rejected his faith, his family, his home, and everything he knew, so he could keep the man safe. They stay together despite fate, despite what they are, because they refuse to be pulled apart.